The race in the 4th stage of the Giro d'Italia was sparkling. Along the 150 km from Chiavari to La Spezia, the bunch faced three climb of 3rd category but there was also a bunch of demanding hills along the way

LAMPRE-MERIDA had one of his riders, the Ethiopian lion Tsgabu Grmay, in the main breakaway which had a maximum advantage of 10'. The breakaway was heavily reduced on the Passo del Termine and meanwhile the bunch reduced the gap thanks to the high pace imposed by Astana, which made the group explode.

Before the last climb of the stage, Grmay was caught by the main group, where Przemyslaw Niemiec was. he Polish climber was dropped on Biassa and he crossed the finish line 2'56" behind the winner Formolo.

"My task was to be ready in the case of a large attack would escape from the bunch and so I immediately followed the breakaway when I noticed there were many riders escaping," Grmay said. The breakaway had a large advantage, but the course was demanding and it required lots of ernergy, especially on the Passo del Termine, where I had to manage my ressources. I'm happy I had the feeling of being in a breakaway in the Giro d'Italia, but now I want to recover in view of the next stages."

Niemiec, who's 29th in the overall classification explained that: "The race was intense, we were aware of the possibility that the stage would be demanding and the course made a heavy selection.

"On the Passo del Termine, where Astana raised the speed, I concentrated on not getting dropped because I knew that it would have been a problem and the gap would have been very large. On the final climb I set my pace but it was not enough to remain with the head of the race."